Miles From Where You Are
by Soozen
Summary: It is three years after the war ended, and Sokka and Suki have gone their separate ways. They haven't seen each other since, but that does not mean Sokka doesn't think about her...


"_I find the map and draw a straight line  
Over rivers, farms, and state lines  
The distance from A to where you'd B  
It's only finger-lengths that I see  
I touch the place where I'd find your face…"_  
-Set the Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainright

* * *

It had been weeks that Sokka had been at sea, and infinitely longer since he'd last seen Suki.

It was a little under three years ago that he'd last seen her, months after Aang had defeated Ozai. They'd stuck together for a while, traveling a little. Not much; they'd gone to Ba Sing Se to see it being rebuilt, and help out in the rebuilding. And from there, it had been nearly aimless traveling for several weeks. Aang and Katara had stuck to traveling on Appa. It was faster and more comfortable, they'd reasoned.

Faster was the exact reason why Sokka and Suki had opted to go on foot.

The war was over. The only thing left to do was go home. And for Sokka and Suki, home happened to be two very different locations.

Sokka could not ask Suki to leave Kiyoshi Island and the rest of the Kiyoshi warriors, just as she couldn't voice the opinion that he not return to the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka wanted to- he _really_ wanted Suki to stay with him- but it just wouldn't work. They each belonged to their own people, perhaps more so than they belonged to each other.

And despite the many, many weeks it took to finally get to a port, where they'd finally part ways, the time flew by much too quickly for Sokka. He was certain that Suki felt the same way.

Their goodbyes had been tearful, though Sokka refused to admit that he'd cried. He'd held it back, at least, until he'd gotten onto his ship, and was safely away from anyone else. He hadn't bawled, at least.

Upon reaching the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka was greeted as a war hero. He shouldn't have been as surprised as he was to find everyone cheering as he walked into his home town; he _had_ played a crucial role in saving the world, after all. But, that seemed like so long ago that he'd forgotten that it was still a rather big deal. Even Aang and Katara had joined in the festivities that sparked at his arrival, in his honor.

Aang and Katara. It was hard to be around the two of them sometimes. It made sense that Aang had come back to the Southern Water Tribe with them, and live with them. They were his family now, his people. But…the rare times they were very openly affectionate were hard to watch. It only served to remind him of how much he missed Suki.

Not that Sokka just sat around all day thinking of Suki. No, he kept himself busy, helping his father out, hunting, fishing, fixing things…. The tasks were endless, really, and he had a lot to learn about running a tribe.

But he did think about her, especially when going to sleep. There had been many a night where they'd share a sleeping bag. Sokka missed having Suki's warm body nestled in against him, breathing in her scent.

He could hardly remember what she smelled like anymore. Three years…. Three years had nearly passed since he'd seen her last.

Sokka was sitting in his room on board the ship, studying maps; he'd never lost his love of maps, and hadn't gotten the chance to look at one in, well, years (except for when retelling of all his travels; then he pulled out his map of the world). His eyes kept drifting back to Kiyoshi Island.

To Suki.

He pressed a finger to the paper, to where his ship was currently, and then slid his finger up, carving a path to Kiyoshi Island. It didn't look so far. Only a couple of inches on the map.

But that was deceiving. Kiyoshi Island was much further than a few inches. Suki was much further.

Sokka let out a heavy sigh and flopped backward on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His father had encouraged Sokka to find someone new, to perhaps entertain the idea of maybe dating a girl from his tribe. Hakoda was fond of Suki, but Hakoda also thought like a tribe leader, and for the future of his tribe. He understood that Suki would never leave the Kiyoshi Warriors. In one heart to heart with Sokka, he'd said that, possibly, it wasn't ever going to work out with him and Suki.

That had hurt to hear. But Sokka knew it was true. One day, he'd be head of the Southern Water Tribe. He could not abandon that, and move to Kiyoshi Island. The same went for Suki.

And so, Sokka had tried. Sort of. But, after meeting Suki, every other girl from his tribe was just…uninteresting in comparison. Boring. They weren't as pretty as Suki, didn't have her pale skin and auburn hair, or her smile- oh! Her smile! And they certainly weren't as strong hearted, or just plain _strong_ as her. She had the strength and courage of a dragon, and Sokka couldn't bring himself to just _settle_ because Suki was miles and miles and an ocean away.

They were closer now, closer than ever to Suki. But the ship was no going to Kiyoshi Island. They were on course to the North Pole, to visit the sister tribe. It hadn't been done in decades, and it was time for the two water tribes to meet again. Sokka had opted to go, as had Katara and Aang. They knew the Northern Water tribe, and it would be nice to see Master Pakku again.

Days passed, and they crept closer to Kiyoshi Island. Sokka knew exactly when they'd be close enough for him to see the island. That day, Sokka remained at the side of the ship, staring out to sea. And then, he saw it; faintly, very faintly, a dark line on the horizon. His heart leapt at the sigh, and it took a lot of self restraint not to find his dad and whine and complain until Hakoda caved and had them stop at the island.

It had been almost three years since he'd seen Suki. Three long years.

"Are you thinking about Suki?"

Sokka jumped nearly a foot in the air at the voice, and whirled around; it was Aang, of course, Momo perched on his shoulder. Aang could sneak up on anyone.

"What? No!" Sokka said, quick to deny it. "I was just- looking out! And the scenery! Lots of…wide blue ocean out there to appreciate. Yep, we Water Tribe love to appreciate some water!"

Aang merely raised an eyebrow at the poor cover up, and Sokka sighed. Aang was no longer the naïve little twelve year old that could be distracted by whatever nonsense he spewed. He was fifteen, and _smarter_. Taller, too. Taller than Sokka, and he was still a good four years younger than him; the kid had just _sky-rocketed_ the past couple of years. Sokka wasn't sure if he liked it.

"Yeah, I was thinking about Suki," Sokka said with a sigh, turning around and resting against the railing. His gaze once more returned to Kiyoshi Island.

Aang followed his movements, only he leant against the railing with his back to it. "You still miss her." It wasn't a question. Aang was damn perceptive; at least, he was now, compared to how he used to be. "You know, I bet your dad would stop there, if you asked."

Sokka shook his head. "No. No way. I can't do that."

"Why not?"

He let out another sigh. "It's been years, Aang. _Years_. I have no idea what she's up to or-or how she feels about me. She could have gotten so busy that she forgot about me, or…. I don't _know_ anything about her anymore." Sokka shook his head slightly, staring at the island. It was larger now, darker.

"There's no way she could have forgotten you," Aang said, giving Sokka a smile. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Sokka just shook his head, opting not to answer that. There were many bad things that could happen if he just popped in there, bad things he could discover. Like, Suki and the rest of the Kiyoshi warriors could be gone, out traveling.

Or Suki could be married.

Sokka did _not_ like to think about that. It made his stomach twist and churn into terrible knots.

Aang seemed to catch on that was not something Sokka really wanted to talk about, and left Sokka to his thoughts. He remained at the side of the ship for the better part of an hour, before he realized that he couldn't see Kiyoshi island anymore. At least, he couldn't be staring out, straight ahead; the ship was now heading directly to the island.

His jaw dropped slightly and for half a moment, he couldn't move. They were going to Kiyoshi Island. _They were going to Kiyoshi Island!_

And then, instantaneously, Sokka leapt into action, running to the helm of the ship, where his father would be. "Dad!" he cried, running up the stairs, only to stumble and fall, face planting on the wooden planks. He scrambled to his feet, still moving at a remarkable pace; Hakoda was staring at him with an amused and slightly confused expression. "Dad!"

"Yes, Sokka?"

"We're headed to Kiyoshi Island!"

Hakoda nodded, a strange smile on his face. "I'm very aware of that, Sokka. I am the one steering this ship."

Hakoda _clearly_ did not understand what Sokka was trying to tell him. "_Kiyoshi_ Island, Dad!" he repeated, gesturing toward the ever growing landmass in front of the ship. "The island where Suki lives!"

"Yes."

Sokka nearly face-palmed. Was his dad intentionally being difficult in giving him answers? "Why are we going there?"

"Well, it's like you said," Hakoda said, giving Sokka a knowing smile. "It's where Suki lives."

Sokka's eyes widened. They were- they were really going to stop there?

"And," Hakoda continued, "we do need to pick up some supplies, fresh food…."

Sokka was hardly listening. He'd turned to look back at the island. They were going to Kiyoshi Island. They were going to Kiyoshi Island because Suki was there, to see Suki. He felt a strange mixture of nauseous and excited.

It seemed to take ages to finally reach the island. If Sokka hadn't known exactly where Aang was, he would have sworn that Aang was messing with the wind, to slow them down. And, then they didn't even use the closest harbor! Though, that made a lot of sense, actually; that was where the Unagi lived. Aang or Katara must've warned Hakoda about that.

Finally, _finally_, they pulled into a smaller harbor, on the other side of the island. Sokka could not stop fidgeting. Would Suki remember him? Would she be excited to see him? Would she have another man in her life? Would she _recognize_ him? Sokka was suddenly very glad he'd kept his warrior's wolftail, instead of donning some other hairstyle.

He made very certain he was on the first boat to leave the ship, along with Aang (it always helped to have the Avatar with them) and several other men. He was slightly distracted from his constant watch of the shore while the boat was being lowered, but when he looked back to the island, he gasped.

There were the Kiyoshi warriors, standing at the beach, staring out at the ship. And there, in front-

It was Suki. It had to be Suki. The short reddish hair, that stance; it could only be her.

Sokka found that he had no voice. He could only gape. Suki was there. She was right there!

What would he say to her, once he reached her? Would they have small talk? Why was it even called small talk? It wasn't like they purposely used small words, or talked about tiny things. That was a stupid phrase, and thinking about this was _not_ helping to prepare himself right now!

They were close now, so close, but not quite there, but Sokka couldn't hold back anymore. He needed to see how she reacted to him. If she remembered him, hated him, still felt _something_ for him-

"SUKI!" Sokka suddenly screamed, waving an arm at her. He stood up, wobbling as the boat was rowed to shore, keeping an eye on Suki, needing to see how she reacted; he could not wait, not one bit.

"Sokka? Sokka!" And then, Suki was running toward him, into the water, and Sokka did not think twice; he leapt from the boat, nearly belly-flopping into the water. Luckily, it was only a foot or two deep, and he was able to run- as well as he could through the water- to Suki.

She wanted to see him. He could see it in her eyes. She was desperate, she _wanted_ him.

Sokka didn't think when he reached her, still standing in a foot of water. He just did the only thing he wanted to do, the only thing he'd wanted for months and months; he took Suki in his arms, and kissed her deeply.

They'd have time to talk later.

* * *

Thanks for reading.

Please leave constructive criticisms.


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